I ended up crashing on the couch 'cause it was a frustrating evening with my 2-year-old and I kept thinking that I needed to go to sleep fast because my 9 month old would wake up in the night (which she did).

6. What was the worst injury you had as a child?

I was told that when I was 3 or 4 I came home from a friends' house with a broken nose. From my memory, I believe that while clamoring around under their dining room table I smashed my face into the leg of that table.

7. Will you/have you worked out today?

Does pushing around a full grocery cart with little kids count as working out??? 'Cause if so, then yes I worked out today.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

My grandma used to make a simple pasta dish that I love. Grandma's Spaghetti... which us kids have deemed "Gramma Skeddy". She has since passed away but my mom gave me the recipe so I usually make it about once a month. It is easy and only takes about half an hour.

INGREDIENTS:

crisco

1 onion

1 lb. ground beef (or more if you want more)

salt/pepper

garlic (powdered or minced or cloves)

15 oz. can tomato sauce

1/2 to 1 can of water

1 lb. noodles of your choice (I like elbow or rotini)

=======================

Now, I know some of you are thinking, "crisco, really?" yes really! I've tried it with olive oil and it misses the taste and makes things a bit oily. You can try butter, but I haven't tried it that way.

So you take a scoop and heat it up until it melts.
Then you sautee your chopped onion in the crisco. If you use minced garlic or chopped garlic cloves, you would add them here to also sautee.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Whooo-hoo! My first blog hop! Household 6 Diva is hosting her own Bloghop during Blissdom so I decided this would be a great way to find some new blogs and perhaps pick up a few readers as well.

HELLO -- and welcome to my little blog, The Tervo Times. I started this when we moved from Japan to New Mexico (well, I actually started it during our Hawaii vacation which was part of our PCS, I love "Leave En Route"). Like most people, it was to let family and friends know what was going on in our lives while we could not be home.

My postings vary from the mundane parts of life, thearpies for my son (who has Apraxia), watching the growth and development of my children, my annoyaces with the dog... to recipes, the special giveaway, crafts, my backgrounds stories and an occassional vent. Oh, and the fairly regular changing of my layout -- one day I'll pay for it to be designed for real.

This is me (right before the Church Christmas play) -- a mid-twenties stay-at-home-mom and military wife. Hard to find a good, recent picture because I'm usually the one behind the camera, but trust me, I'm VERY much a casual photographer using my basic point and shoot camera. I like reading (when I have time), sewing, and spending time with friends for conversation other than baby talk.This is my husband, Ryan. We've been married almost 6 years. He's the one in the military :) and is also working towards his Master's degree. This guy just turned 30 this month... so I call him my "old man" but he doesn't really mind since when we were married he always jested that he got his "teen bride" (I was 19).Here's William. My firstborn. Actually born in Japan. He'll be turning 3 in a few months. This little guy recently has been causing me my stress from blood and urine tests and not really eating much on top of being your typical 2-year-old. He's super smart, but doesn't talk yet... hence the therapies.Then I have my little girl, Alanna. She's full of attitude at only 9 months old. This girl is already walking and babbling away and willing to fight for anything she wants. Right now she's really testing her limits to see how much the rules really are enforced so lately she's been in trouble quite a bit. Yesterday it looked like her first tooth finally popped the gum! And rounding out our family is Maya. She's my little Havanese puppy. Well, she's just over a year old. This dog cost a fortune to begin with and then we had major digestive *ahempoopahem* issues so Ryan wanted to get rid of her. But I won out and she entertains my babies for hours!
So yeah, I've been blogging for almost a year and a half now and really enjoy it. I've made a few friends this way and just love the blogging community. Besides, as a military wife most of your friends become internet friends after awhile only because we all move away and it's the only way to keep in contact. Thanks for stopping by... leave a comment to let me know you were here and I'll try to check you out as well.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Sometimes the rude-ness of people really gets to me. I mean, what's the deal?

For example, today I had to take Will back to the hospital for a re-draw on one of his blood tests (which they missed the vein and kept digging the needle around in his arm while he screamed).

Anyway, the parking is always a bear but for the most part I'm willing to walk some distance from the entrance because I'm healthy and I didn't have the baby, just Will. But there's a limit on how far away I will park because I can't carry Will the whole way and I usually make him walk... so I can't be too far or else he tires out.

So as I'm driving around the lot there's a number of people also looking for spots. Finally I just go to the LAST aisle and as I'm entering it I see a car a bit ahead backing out. So I give him space, stop, wait, and turn my signal on. Nobody is behind or in front of me nor already waiting for the spot. Then a car pulls behind me and just also waits because they know I'll be parking soon and are allowing the exiting car space to go by.

THEN! This woman in her SUV flies around from the other end of the aisle and scoots right into the spot before the reversing car even had time to straighten out. I didn't even have the chance to get in there!

I honked my horn and threw up my hands at the woman -- and I got her attention. I waited there. When she got out of her car I mouthed the words "That was Rude."

She then pointed down the way and said there were 2 more spots in the other parking lot... like another block away from the entrance.

Ug! I seriously felt like shouting "TOWANDA!" and ramming the back of her vehicle, just like in Fried Green Tomatoes. Hey, I've got insurance... too bad I need my car... and I had a toddler with me.

I continued my search for a parking space and finally did find one -- and much closer to the hospital than if I had the other spot. Good thing we weren't in a hurry for an appointment.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

This year will be my sister and bro-in-law's 10th Anniversary. Originally they were wanting to go to Italy but with car problems and some other things called "life" it probably will not happen. So I've been "dream" planning a vacation for my sister... though these vacations are actually a possibility for them.

I've never gone on a cruise and really, REALLY want to. So I looked at cruises for them plus the airfare to arrive at the port city. Right now I'm favoring Celebrity Cruises, but I don't have any idea really on what are the best cruises. I looked at them going to the Caribbean.

Then my sis mentioned she wanted to go to Jamaica. Okay!

Then I began searching for "all-inclusive" resorts in Jamaica. I must say that I'm favoring Breezes over Sandals... but I've never experienced either one so this is all based on rates and amenities.

We also briefly chatted about Hawaii. I'm not sure about civilian places to stay there because I usually search for military places there when we stayed. And she mentioned they probably did NOT want to stay on Waikiki, but on the other side of the island. And I'm at a loss there because I don't know where to go.

Oh how I wish I could just travel! My parents are going to Florida to visit Disney World this month. Yeah, I'm a bit jealous. Never been there myself. It gets a bit difficult to do certain vacations when you've got little kids or babies... but eventually we'll be able to enjoy experiences together as a family that they will remember.

Right now I'm in the process of planning a trip to the Grand Canyon in the fall. My hope is to get to the South AND North Rims while also enjoying different sights and tourist attractions in the area. I'm planning about a week but it likely will not be that long. I mentioned getting an RV or motor home rental, but Ryan says he would rather just find hotels or motels in the nearby towns.

Have any of you, my readers, gone on cruises or fancy vacations? What were your experiences? If you've gone to the Grand Canyon... what did you do that you found to be the highlight of the trip? And where would your dream vacation be?? Mine is totally a European Tour for about 6 months with unlimited funds. Yeah, dream on...

Saturday, January 22, 2011

First I had to find the freakin' place because it was over the "mountains" and since it's more of a country-living thing going on over there I knew I would have problems. That's where the wonderful Aussie man comes in. My navigator, AKA - GARMIN. One of my best birthday presents. He lead me right to Skyline.

Once I found the place I had no idea where to go. There are stables, different outside corrals and a large house. After driving the full circle of the place I parked and found a door I assumed led to the main arena. I was right... it was the main arena, but the totally wrong door. They told me to go around to the other side. I did that -- entering the office and told I still had further to go.

Then I finally found the "waiting room" where 2 other parents were sitting while their children were in a session. Whew. Found it!

I was a little taken aback though because the kids that were getting the therapy were severely "medically fragile" (that's what it was called when I was in school). I forget the new proper term... my sister told me. Anyway, I felt a little bad that Will got a place for the horse therapy while there could be other children who may have needed it more. There's a long waiting list. He can walk and attempts to talk and does not have severe motor planning issues -- but he does have some problems.

Anyway, I had to get over it because I know this is something that will help him out.

After some paperwork they strapped the neat belt on him. It has handles for his therapists to assist him. They did some initial familiarization of the area and brought out the horse. Once on he was thrilled. They walked the horse around while Will sat atop him and kind of got a feel for what was going on with him.

He has a weak core.
He has some defensiveness trying/touching new things.
He seems to have some problems transitioning without thorough instructions.
He loves the horse.
He lacks breath control.
He has motor planning problems.
He is extremely bright.
He seems to know the words but cannot bring them out.

There's more... but these therapists hadn't spent much time with him and were mentioning the same stuff his other therapists had brought up. And they had not gone through all of his history yet. They explained how this type of therapy will be helpful to him, and I'm in full agreement. I think we're working on the right stuff.

When they had to take him off the horse he wanted back on. He wasn't throwing a fit or anything but was expressing that he didn't want to leave and kept pointing at the horses. They had him say 'bye-bye' to the horses and once they were out of the arena he cooperatively walked back to me.

I had Alanna with me. She was overall well behaved, but I think in the future I need to find somebody to watch her... she's too active to hold onto and when I take her into the arena she got upset that she couldn't get down and explore so she was starting to screech out. That has the potential of spooking the horses - not good - so I spent most of Will's session in the waiting room watching from the viewing window. I want to be in the indoor arena with Will so that the therapists can talk with me as his session is happening and my little Lana makes that difficult.

We'll see how things go in the future. Maybe I'll actually get pics on my camera to share.

Friday, January 21, 2011

If you'd like to participate in MilSpouse Friday Fill-In, head over to Wifey's site, post your answers to the questions and link up.

This week:

1. What do you usually want to know about someone when meeting them for the first time?
I usually like to know where a person lived or grew up, so basically, where do they call home. Meeting people all the time with the military it's a common conversation piece.2. Would you rather know everything about your spouse, or be regularly surprised?
I'm not really sure. I think I'd rather know everything... I'm kind of nosey... and I HATE secrets. It might get boring though... but being surprised might make me have trust issues, feeling like I don't really know my husband.3. If you could live in one city for the rest of your life, where would you live?
This is a hard one! I don't know how well I'd settle down in one place because I actually do enjoy moving to different places. I don't know if I'd go back to the Northwest... rainy. And although we like Albuquerque, the crime kind of turns me off on staying here. I can't really pick a place right now, perhaps someplace in Europe - then I can keep traveling!4. When you go out of town, what one material thing do you ALWAYS take?
my I.D. - that's a lame answer, but very true.5. Using no more than 10 nouns, and ONLY nouns, describe yourself.
wife, mom, Christian, daughter, owner, driver, home, theatre, partner, paralegal

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Took Will to the lab so he could get the other blood tests done as well as a sweat chloride test and make him pee in a cup again.

The poor guy had about 10 vials to fill... it may have only been 9, but still! I had him sitting on my lap, my legs wrapped around his so he couldn't kick and my one arm wrapped around his chest holding down the arm NOT being stuck with the needle. My other arm/hand was holding down his other arm which was getting pricked. Then there was another lady holding his arm straight and steady for the other lady who was actually holding the needle.

Even with all that he had to get stuck two times. :(

Oh, and he screamed bloody murder the whole time.

I was really happy that my friend offered to watch Alanna that afternoon because I'm not sure how I would have handeled everything if she had come with me.

It's emotionally draining... and my muscles were pretty fatigued by the end too.

Not sure exactly what all they are testing for. I know the sweat chloride test (which takes like 45 minutes!) is for cystic fibrosis, but with everything else I really have no clue.

Kind of hoping we can begin to get some answers.

I put in a prayer request at my Bible Study today about everything. By doing that I was contacted by 2 ladies in the study; 1 is a leader in the Family with Special Needs support group on base and she provided me with some helpful information, and the other girl has been going through something similar over the past few years and has some helpful information and emotional support on what we're going through.

I usually don't broadcast my personal/home issues to people, but I'm not sure how much this qualifies in that area. In any case, I'm glad I shared.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

More testing.My poor little guy.Today's doctor appointment showed that he did grow, but LOST weight. ARGH! I don't know what's going on! Ryan was very frustrated with the military hospital and took it out on our pediatrician. It's not her fault (I even apologized to her). She's only seen Will 1 time before this appointment. We had a great pediatrician when we first came to the base, but then he PCS'ed and then we had to see this nurse lady for an appointment and then the other doctor a few times before we got our new Primary Care Provider for the kids. She is really good and is trying to find out what, if anything, is going on with Will. But the fact is that Ryan does not feel Will is getting the proper testing necessary up to this point.More blood work ordered, pee in a cup, need to schedule an MRI, possible in-patient eating clinic if things don't improve...Ryan took Will to another appointment with a civillian hospital to get a second opinion. I was going to go, but it was scheduled the same time Maya had her vet appointment --- and it is IMPOSSIBLE to get appointments there so I wasn't cancelling.The civillian docs were shocked at the lack of labs done on Will as well as how long ago they were done. They ordered a bunch more and are re-testing some of the military labs' tests. I'm conflicted on what I want. In some ways I want there to be nothing wrong so that there's nothing wrong with him, but at the same time I'd like them to find something so it can be addressed and hopefully help him. It's a horrible feeling when you're not sure what is going on with you child.On a happier note: we have news on the hippo therapy! Will should be starting this week and the even better part is that it doesn't interfere with my Bible Study!And Alanna is still babbling away. Will tries to copy her, which is encouraging. She walks everywhere and eats everything. Today she got a few more shots... still have 1 more before she gets her next one at a year. We're doing the alternative vaccination schedule from Dr. Sears' parenting library. We fell a bit behind right before the holidays, but it's all okay.So that's what's going on in my life right now -- what's up with yours? Oh, and how do you feel about getting second opinions from doctors?

Sunday, January 16, 2011

I have to keep reminding myself of where William was just 6 months ago.

He really has made a LOT of progress.

But I had another mini melt down when a friend posted a video of her son on Facebook who is a few months younger than William. She asked him a question and he answered her back in a clear and complete sentence.

And I wanted to cry.

My pity parties can't last long because it doesn't really help. We just continue trying to get sounds and approximations from our little guy... while his baby sister babbles nearby (and I think her first word may be "daddy" in the near future 'cause she makes the "d" sound waaaay more often than the "m" sound --- so not fair).

Anyway, Will has speech and occupational therapy tomorrow. I finally got in contact with the Hippotherapy place and it looks like Will should be able to start that in the beginning of February. The only thing is when a time becomes available you take it -- no matter what since it is difficult to get in! The sucky part is that the date/time they said would likely be available is during my PWOC Bible Study.

Let's hope God, who holds all schedules, will be able to provide a better time.

In other news, Alanna is really starting to climb on everything. Soon she'll conquer the couch, I'm sure of it.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

She is full of personality and attitude -- and I love it! Alanna doesn't care if she can do something perfectly (like my first born was/is). If she wants to do something, she does it!

Shortly after we arrived in Washington on Christmas Vacation, I was at my parents' place and was actually making dinner for the family. Alanna got really upset about something so she was crawling to me from the living room. During her angry screaming she suddenly just stood straight up in the middle of the floor with no help.

I kind of stood there and watched her waiting to see what she would do. After a little bit she got back down on all fours and was going to come crawling to me, but instead I picked her up.

From then on she was all about standing without support. During that time we were home she would take one or maybe two steps.

Once we got back home she really began walking. Like I said, she's 8 months old... and this is what she can do....

And also, because I can, I thought I'd include a pic of Will giving me his "cheesy" smile!

Living in Japan! I had some wonderful travel opportunities that I probably would not have had. Never had a desire to travel to Japan so it was great to experience the culture and see that country - living on the mainland but going to Hokkaido and Okinawa to vacation.

4.What is the ugliest fashion trend you ever bought into (I’d like to make fun of you, so can you please provide a picture as well)? from More Than An Army Wife

I don't think I had a fasion trend. Growing up I wore what I was given and then when I was older I basically lived in jeans, t-shirts and sweatshirts... still do.

5.What was the high point of last month?

I loved flying home, visiting family and meeting friends. I think just the whole experience of being with everyone for Christmas was my highpoint last month.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

I think they can be fascinating and beautiful, but I'm not ready to commit.

They're so.... permanent.

When I meet people who have tattoos I usually ask about them; what they mean, how old they were, how they settled on that design, who they went to, etc... It's a great conversation started and a good way to get to know somebody.

I've decided that if I ever do get a tattoo it will probably be of a dolphin (my favorite animal) with "Agape" or a scripture with it... maybe my kids' names... who knows. Obviously I haven't decided on anything yet.

You see, I've got requirements first. If I can find a place on my body that fits all these requirements I might actually get one.

THE REQUIREMENTS:

Must be in a place I can actually easily see it.

Must be in a place that I can easily show people (not embarrassing)

Must be in a place that can be covered up, especially for special occassions and formal situations.

Must be in a place that will not get all gross and stretched out if I get pregnant again or super fat.

I realize with makeup and jewelry things can be masked. Additionally, with our culture today tattoos are becoming much more acceptable in formal situations as well as everyday life.
But for now, I'm not ready to get one. What if I regret it later? Guess I'll just stick with the temporary ones. My kids love them... so do I!

Monday, January 10, 2011

I never understood why my mom would get flustered with us kids when she would ask what we wanted for dinner and our reply would be, "I don't know."

For our first 5 years of marriage I rarely made dinner. If I did it was probably not done at a reasonable dinner time. Why? I never knew what to make. Then if I did know what to make, what were the chances I had all the ingredients or the meat unfrozen? On top of that, in the beginning we were both working and nobody was even home for dinner... but that's a different story.

Never ask a husband an hour before dinner what he wants to eat. He'll just say, "I don't know" or "whatever you want" or something along those lines.

When the cook doesn't know what to make either good food is rarely consumed!

What is my solution?

For about 6 months now I've been the super wife!

That's right! I have been planning dinners for 2 weeks at a time. Every payday I get my calendar out and start plotting which days we will have which meals. I'll get some minor input from the hubby on a specific meal he would like during that period (usually steak) and jot it down. Twice a week is leftovers as well so that helps. Also, I plan my new meal recipe once a month for my 101 in 1001!

It is all variable, to a point. Sometimes I'll switch around -- I mean, I'm flexible.

The reason this is so helpful is that when I go to the commissary I have a list of all the ingredients I'll need for those 2 weeks of meals and not scramble last minute to be sure I have everything. Also... I'll get my meat defrosted in time and know WHEN to start making dinner so that I have it done by 6 or 6:30.

Yeah, I have a deadline for my dinners. I can't always rely on hubby to be home at the same hour every day so I tell him when it's ready and if he's here he eats with us. If not, at least he has something good to warm up when he gets home.

Some people choose to cook on the fly... but if I don't plan ahead we won't eat. Hey, it works for me!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Waaaaaay back when, during high school, I had a wonderful teacher, Mr. Seidel, who allowed me the opportunity to write weird and random stories on the side whiteboard when my work was complete. They would be very obscure and using Disney character names to refer to certain friends and staff members. Other classes weren't aware who was writing, but enjoyed reading them and would get excited when I had an updated story.

Anyway, I've been toying with the idea of having a part of my blog, maybe 1 day a week, dedicated to writing a story. Maybe it will turn into a long story line, maybe it will be just a single session story. Not sure.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

On my 12th birthday my parents signed the papers and received the keys to our FIRST owned home as a family... before then it was base housing. Dad had retired from the military and since my parents wanted to stay in the area for us kids to finish school (and they also had jobs themselves) they purchased a home nearby.

Here's the thing -- the house they bought happened to be a house that the previous owner died in. Apparently he was an older guy and the neighbor found him dead in his big living room chair.

What I did find creepy was the imprint of that recliner was left in the carpet for a LONG time and I always tried to avoid walking on it. My brother and I used to tease each other if we walked on it saying, "your stepping on the dead guy".

Okay, what am I getting at with this story? Just wait.

By moving into this house (which had multiple add ons over the years and kinda akward layout) this was the first place that I got my OWN room! Before this I either shared with my brother or sister... this was a big thing for a soon-to-be-teenager. And because of this strange home there was only 1 full bathroom with a tub/shower and it happened to be in my room. My mom and dad didn't want us kids wandering in their room at any hour and I was the soundest sleeper and I guess didn't deserve the most privacy...

Now that first night I was to sleep in the room I had a cot. All our furniture had not arrived yet.

Let me set this up: first time with my own room, not in my regular bed, first time in a new house, a dead guy's house, imprint of dead guy's chair maybe 5 feet from my bedroom door, and people walking in my room at any time.

Wanna know what I learned?? It's creepy!

Then my bedroom door, though latched, would suddenly open all on its own at random times.

I really tried to keep my cool. I sang a LOT of "Jesus Loves Me" that first night as well as prayed... and really didn't get much sleep.

What we realized the next morning was that because of the air pressure in the house and the way it was constructed and reconstructed with all the different changes and addons from whenever, when the front door was opened my bedroom door would swing open. It wasn't the dead guy's ghost.

From then on I kept a large rock in my room to keep the door closed when I wanted it to stay closed (like when I was in there) but it could easily be pushed open by a person who needed to come in for the bathroom.

When I think back on that time I still remember how totally freaked out I was, but also like remembering what I turned to for comfort. And you wanna know something else?? I still turn to the same place.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

With 2 small kids it can be a challenge to get stuff done. That is why when Alanna falls asleep I quickly put her in her bed where she'll usually be out for hours. Once she's down I'm cleaning something, getting Will to go to bed (or entertaining him) or spending time with the husband. Oh, and of course there are times when I just sit around and veg (a woman needs to keep her sanity).

Yesterday was a vegging day... Will was already napping and Alanna was quite content being held and having a bottle. As usual, she fell asleep and just as I was about to get up and put her in her bed... I stopped.

How often do I just sit there and hold her?

When Will was a baby, we'd spend so much time napping together or I'd just hold him, stare at his face and enjoy feeling him move and breathe -- happy in my arms.

So I just stayed where I was, holding her with Netflix streaming for additional entertainment.

That girl is so precious and she's getting big and growing up so fast! I should really slow down and take it in.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Alright, I've been wanting to make this post but was having issues with the photo 'cause I took it on my phone but don't have a data plan so I tried messaging it to Ryan's iPhone (which was being stupid) so I e-mailed it to me and finally got it loaded on a computer! Yay me! That also explains why the quality is so bad... my simple 3.0 megapixels.

So here's the story!

While I was home for Christmas I had the wonderful opportunity to meet a blogging friend, Poe from Many Waters. We met for coffee (well, tea and hot chocolate) and chatted, and it was so weird yet cool to realize that although you're meeting for the first time in person it felt like we really did already know one another. So fun! Anyway, I now owe her a drink because she purchased mine since I hadn't arrived yet and the line was super long.

Anyway, we talked about meeting up again and maybe Wifey from WifeOfASailor would come as well. Both of them have hubbies stationed in the Northwest. If you've seen my little MilSpouse Friday Fill-In posts, she's the one that heads that up.

Just a few days before heading back I did meet up with them at the local Olive Garden. I do have to admit that I was a little dazed originally meeting Wifey (she's sorta celebrity for some blogging military spouses) but soon recognized that she's a normal person too! Sheesh! Unfortunately Wifey had JUST received some crappy news shortly before our lunch so she was understandably upset, but she was still fun to talk to anyways.

Wifey & Poe

These ladies are wonderful and if you don't follow their blogs, you should. Their posts range from military life, to recipes, random life, pictures and interesting links. And they're fun to be around in person as well.

Oh! Check out the signature on my blog below! I finally learned how to do it... pat on the back for me!

Here are more pics from our trip home for Christmas. As I mentioned, there was a lack of picture taking on my part so many of these are from my Mother-in-Law. But I just love seeing how cute my babies are! BTW: I nearly always post SOOC, who has time to edit??? At least they're all the right direction!

Lana sleeping in her super PINK carseat!

Playing together Checking out Will's new sleeping bag

I'm trying to express the attitude of this girl....

I think this sums it up pretty well.

Will's still eating breakfast while Lana's ready to go, so common.

William!

Me and my baby!

such a character sometimes!

Lana with Nana

We had the opportunity to visit Ryan's dad. His health is rapidly declining, so whenever we go home we try to see him. I tried out the new bows for Alanna, but they don't stay in very well.

there's not much to say when the conversation is mostly one-sided.

And then Alanna gets mad because I took the tin foil wrapped candy away from her.

our family with Grandpa

I only realize now I never got any pics of my dad with my kids. But there are a few with my family... sort of.

Mom with some of her "babies": Madera (dog by her shoulder), Alanna, Partly Cloudy (the Grey kitty on her lap), and William.

My brother Mike with Madera

I was even home to celebrate my mom's birthday! It was my responsibility to get the cake. We all like Coldstone ice cream cakes... SCORE!

An Air Force wife and stay-at-home mom to two young children and a dog. Former Navy Brat and call Washington State home. These are the glimpses into my life -- the military, a son with a severe speech disorder, my hobbies, my opinions, and our travels as we take in the world around us.